A step at a time
by Bookaholickiddo
Summary: What if something else had happened on that halloween night, 31 October 1981? After all, it was only Harry that Voldemort wanted.
1. Chapter 1 - Two friends for him

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The story is mine though :)

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><p>"You asked for me, my Lord?" The death eater kneeled in front of the obsidian throne trying to check his trembling form. He hadn't done anything wrong. The mission to capture auror had gone well. There was no reason that he could see…<p>

"Ah, Dolohov. Yes. I have a task for you" Voldemort spared the relieved form a lazy glance.

"A…a task, my Lord?" he was part astonished, part scared. The dark Lord had never before assigned individual duty to him. It was always Bellatrix or Malfoy. Then again, death eaters given private missions rarely came back unscathed.

Voldemort's smile was one that was of cold amusement. 'As if the Lord read my mind' Dolohov thought with a shiver.

"Yes fool, a task. I want you to bring me two kids - magic of course" the death eater's eyes shot up in a confusion which was quickly assuaged by the words that left the lipless mouth next. "They should be about the age of our little new member. We don't want the child to be alone, do we?" he stroked the snake's neck with his index finger.

"Yes My Lord. As you wish" All death missions put aside, he had not predicted something so trivial to be the matter of this summons. He tensed with horror when he recognized the poorly disguised bitterness accompanying his words.

But the dark Lord was too happy to consider the mistake of the –now, shuddering – man in front of him which would have subjected him to at least 5 _cruciatus curses_ had it been a week prior. No. No, today he happy; extremely so. The kid's body had been found and search had ceased. Oh how he wished he had been there to see the look on the faces of those muggle loving scum… but no matter, it had all worked out well; after months of doubt and apprehension. Yes… finally.

"You may leave now Dolohov."

He bowed low and scrambled to his feet before walking towards the door trying not to make took like he was wanted to leave the place.

Just as he was reaching for the ornate door handle, a thought struck him.

"My Lord?"

"Yes" he hissed in the direction of the snake, not bothering to look up.

"I was wondering of the dark Lord had any preferences or instructions concerning the children to be brought to the presence of your Lordship?"

Voldemort didn't take him impassive eyes of Nagini for a while.

"No"

"Thank you my Lord. I shall take my lea-"

"On the other hand," the words had barely been whispered but it still reverberated powerfully in the room. "I have come to hear that those mud blood loving blood traitors had a spawn last year. Why don't you pay them visit. The infant must be the age of our guest now, I believe"

Dolohov spluttered his assent and left with a bow. A little part of his courage came back to him once he wasn't in the presence of his master. He frowned. It seemed unfair that he was assigned such petty, trifling tasks. Hadn't he proved his worth? He shouldn't be the one to do this _menial_ job. 'Kirke, on the other hand' he quickened his pace as he sped through the corridors to the drinking hall. 'Kirke had been stumbling around acting every part of the wanna-be-death-eater he was. What difference does it make really? They just needed two brats. The task enquired next to no brains. The idiot's small size though, might just come in handy.'

Kirke was found where he expected to find him- sticking near to the largest group of death eaters in the room.

"Kirke"

The man thus regarded, reluctantly stopped trying to recognize the smell of Bellatrix' favourite drink and turned around, his calculated gaze telling him that he was weighing his status against Bellatrix' favour.

"The dark Lord has assigned me a task that I wish you to take part in"

The man's eyes went from judging to delighted in second

"A TAS- I mean," he quickly lowered his voice, catching sight if Dolohov's angry gaze "a task!? It would be an honour sir, truly and honour to –"

"-yes, yes," Dolohov muttered impatiently. Avery was re-enacting the fight they had got into in a pub last day "The dark Lord wishes that two kids be brought to him. One had to be the recent offspring of that blood traitor Weasley. You must not be seen"

"And the other child?" Kirke called after Dolohov who was already walking towards the group.

"The second child is of no importance. Use your imagination. And don't forget the children must have magic in them"

Kirke didn't waste another minute. He disapparated.

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><p>That's it for the first chapter! What did you think? Review and let me know. I'll try to improve.<p>

English isn't my first language and so, sorry for any errors that might have occurred.


	2. Chapter 2 - Quidditch teams and memories

DISCLAIMER : All recognizable characters belong to J.K. Rowling

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><p>Lily Potter didn't know who was more childish; her husband or her 6 year old son. She didn't bother to hide her amusement as James and Sirius rolled on the ground, wands long forgotten, in an attempt to determine once and for all who was better at combat. Times were difficult and they a lot of strings were pulled to make sure everyone got a day off. So, it wasn't surprising, they were making the best of it. Anthony jumped up and down in the side lines barely held back by Charlie's restraining arm. He cheered every time his dad threw a punch but cringed every time Sirius took it. Two of his favourite people duelling; it was a tough choice for him.<p>

"They'll never grow up, will they?" Molly Weasley looked on with an exasperated smile as Sirius sent James flying into her well maintained flower bed.

Lily winced. She would have long been a millionaire if she had a galleon for every time a marauder destroyed something "Sorry about that Mo-"

She was cut off by a laugh "Don't worry Lily. Heaven knows we could all use a bit of a laugh these days" her smile faded "Any news about the McKinnons?"

"No" Alice frowned sadly "We're doing our best though. The raid at Macnair's gave nothing. I'll bet my life Malfoy tipped him off though. That fool of a minister won't a hear a word against his piggy bank. All the dead ends are taking a toll on the aurors. I can hardly pry Frank away from office these days."

Lily could empathize. James was rarely home for dinner anymore. She had a pretty good idea that Tony's tantrum played a good part in James' presence today.

"They were good people, Archie and Sara." Arthur smiled soberly. Lily thought of that day a fortnight ago when Sara had made a surprise visit with enough meatballs to feed an entire army much to the pleasure of the marauders. Everything had been so perfect that day. There was laughter, teasing and much hording of food from Sirius' part. What there wasn't was the slightest indication that it might be the last time they saw their friend. The emergency call they got at night had come off as a big surprise. The dark sign on the sky spoke volumes but still, _they hoped_…

A cheer cut through their solemn discussion, drawing their attention.

It seemed the hands-on fight had come to an end. Now, James and Sirius were throwing transfigured objects at each other quarrelling about who fought better, egged on by the cheering kids, teenagers and-" Lily watched Frank and Tonks yelling their support and Remus silently flicking his wand so that even the misthrown objects would reach their destination (in this case, each other's faces) successfully.

A sense of foreboding spread through her when she saw the twins silently speaking among themselves. She had thought the Marauders were bad but once Fred and George got their wands began turning 11 and began tailing their heroes…

The adults sitting around the coffee table outside the burrow watched with growing apprehension as the twins send two mud balls at James and Sirius with a swish of their wands.

James transformed the chair he was about to throw back into a hat and placed it back on a very indignant gnome.

"You are _so_ on"

Alice and Molly groaned, Arthur sighed before placing a shield around them and Percy even looked up from his homework. The last time there was a mud ball fight, Sirius somehow ended up stuck in the chimney, Bill got a concussion, the living room sofa caught fire and they still didn't know what exactly had happened.

The groups were formed quickly.

James, Tonks, Bill, George, Anthony and Ginny were whispering tactics on one side of the yard while Sirius, Remus, Frank, Fred, Charlie and Neville were busy making up a theme song for the team.

Fred barked out a laugh. "Ha! Two more and we can have a proper quidditch match"

It shouldn't have mattered. The comment should not have hurt- not after nine years; but it did and Lily couldn't help the lump in her throat or the burning in her eyes. Harry would've loved to play quidditch. He used to crow with delight whenever he zoomed around on the toy broom stick Sirius got him on 'God Son day', smashing everything 2 feet above the ground and giving both him parents migraines by the end of the day. He would have fit right in with the marauders. Her little boy…

The events of those dark days flashed through her mind with clarity. Returning to an empty manor after the Order meeting, finding Bathilda unconscious and the crib empty, finding out that one of their best friends had betrayed them, the tears and that sliver of _hope _until they found her little baby cold and lifeless a week later.

Molly patted her arm, her own eyes shining "I understand dear"

Of course she did. She wasn't the only one who had lost a child in those hellish days. It was a terrible shock. They had found her son and everything was in chaos. In the muddle no one bothered to make sure there was enough protection at the burrow. What were the odds, after all? Ronald Weasley went missing that day. He was just above a year old- nearly Harry's age. Her Harry…

She choked back a sob and looked up when she felt a hand around her shoulder.

James crouched down next to her his eyes bright.

"It will be okay love." Nodding silently she leaned into her husband. She had to be strong; for James and Anthony. Her younger son didn't even know he had a brother and James… he pretended he was okay; that she never saw but Lily did. She saw him go into Harry's room when he thought she was asleep, saw him staring at his crib, running his hands over his baby clothes. He was barely home for a few years after that day – too busy pouring over data, rounding up death eaters; there was no laughter, jokes or pranks. He was _determined _to destroy Voldemort, Pettigrew and every single life associated with the death eaters for what they had taken away from them. It took Anthony's unplanned arrival 4 years later to calm him down even a little bit. She had to be strong.

"Don't keep the team waiting" A watery smile was all she could manage. He gave her a lingering kiss before standing up.

"Remus, I'm okay" she laughed as she felt herself being pulled into another hug soon after James let go.

"Did I hear Lily-pad saying she wanted to play?" Remus was grinning wickedly at her.

She stood and took a step back. "Don't you dare-"

She screamed when she felt her legs leaving the ground. Alternatively punching and yelling out threats only served to make him laugh harder. She could have been fighting against a concrete wall for all the difference it made. Damn auror training.

"SIRIUS BLACK! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

"Lily-pad? Where are you?" he turned around pretending to look for her

"SIRIUS!"

"Yes! I can hear you Lily but I can't see you. Tell me where you are."

"I swear if you don't put me down right now you won't get any brownies-"

She was down in a breath.

"There you are honey. I thought I had lost you. Prongs! I found your wife"

Lily couldn't help the laugh hat burst through her lips. She punched James and Remus who were busy miming Lily's threats to immense cheers from the audience and shook her head. 'Boys'.

"Oh shut up already." She said running her hand through Tony's red locks. He could have been a Weasley if it weren't for the clear blue eyes he got from hid paternal grandmother.

"Sorry love" she glared playfully at her husband. It was amazing how little he had changed. He could have been the guy she had seen at the altar when she was 19 if it weren't for the shadows under his eyes.

"You better be, because-"

A resounding crack cut through the air and a side way glance told her she wasn't the only one with her wand pointed at the moving figures outside the yard.

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><p>So how was it? My chemistry test is going to be a nightmare but oh well. Hope you enjoyed !<p> 


	3. Chapter 3 - Waiting

DISCLAIMER : The usual

Author's Note : Hey guys! This is my first story and I was really happy about the 3 reviews i got. MY FIRST REVIEWS!

So... I'm dedicating this chapter to prongs padfoot 1,MaiKanon and amata0221. thanks guys! Really appreciate it :D

And oh yeah MaiKanon : nice idea :)

Hope you like it

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><p><em>Dolohov watched the two bundles floating in the air before him with open disgust.<em>

"_The whole thing was quite easy I presume"_

_Though loath to say how simple a task it was, he went as much as to admit him luck._

"_The blood traitors were distracted. I heard they found the Potter boy's body today. Not many adults were around, certainly no aurors."_

_Dolohov nodded "You are only lucky bastard then." Kirke held his tongue and the latter continued "What about the other one?"_

"_What about it? Sir" he added as an after thought_

"_Where did you get that one from?"_

"_The park. I was just wondering if I should pay a visit to the Longbottoms. Heard they have a kid too. Then I saw this one in that- that muggle contraption, making flowers float around. So I thought it would be easier…?" Kirke's words trailed off unsurely when he saw the raging man in front of him._

"_Easier? EASIER? YOU DERANGED FOOL! IS THIS THING A PUREBLOOD OR NOT!?"_

_Kirke paled visible "Pu-Pureblood? I- I'm… Surely it doesn't matter. The Weasley… blood traitor…"_

_Dolohov's hand twitched towards his wand "We can make a death eater out of him yet. But we cannot make the other one a pureblood"_

_He subdued his voice and resorted to a cold monotone "Do you even realize what you have done? Do you think the Dark Lord will let us live if we are to bring a child who may or may not be a pure blood, to his presence when very well know what he thinks about such insects?"_

_Kirke was nearly in hysterics now "I can go now. I can find another kid. The Longbottoms. I will-"_

"_Forget it." He growled. "You think they are going to let their kids unattended now that there have been two kidnappings?" He sighed. "The Lord hasn't demanded that we bring them to his presence. He is busy with matters regarding the giants. Let's just hope he doesn't think to wonder about the child's blood lines"_

_Dolohov nodded curtly at the nervous man in front of him cursing himself for his foolish mistake and walked away. He should have known better. The buffoon didn't have a brain._

"_Um…sir?"_

_He stopped impatiently._

"_What."_

"_I don't know if it is of consequence. But I heard its mother calling the child 'Hermione'."_

Through her shock, Lily watched as the figures stumbled forward, thrown off by the apparition. Even before either of them steadied their footing, there was a wand pointed straight at them. Though the sudden occurrence was a surprise in itself, what came off more as a jolt were the intruders themselves.

Molly's words came out choked "They're … They're just kids"

They were. Two of them; two heavily injured boys from what she could see. The one pointing the wand at them was now swaying on the spot weighed down the boy he was supporting and blinded by the blood flowing profusely from a gash on his head.

"We need to help-"

Sirius cut her off "No! Look at his hand Lily"

The wand she was lowering quickly flew back to its previous position once she did.

"The dark mark" Remus' tone was astonished

"But they're so young" Alice's words echoed Molly's

"Polyjuice potion probably" James' voice wasn't sympathetic. "Molly, send message to Albus. I'm pretty sure we can handle these tw-"

"Erm-my-nee" they paused when the figure went completely lax in the wand holder's arm.

The blonde boy gently lowered the other to the ground before looking around.

"Hermione!" the desperation in his voice was tangible and Lily could almost feel his pain from where she was standing.

"…Dad? Who is that?" Lily put a restraining hand on Anthony.

The new comer's head shot towards her son. He slowly lowered his wand and crouched next to the fallen boy whispering something, his eyes never leaving them nevertheless.

There was a crack and he disappeared.

Sirius let out an oath.

She was stunned. If those had been adults, there was no doubt they would be tagged, bounded and shipped off to Azkaban by now. But these were just _boys_. What if they weren't using the Polyjuice potion?

"Quick! Tie him up before he escapes too."

Frank stopped short when the blonde one appeared again but this time with a brunette in his arms.

He lowered her to the ground before taking one step forward, his wand raised. Two breaths later his knees gave out beneath him.

He didn't get up after that.

"Where are they" Poppy's anxious form waddled up the stairs closely followed by a calm Dumbledore.

Alice stopped her nervous pacing outside the door.

"In this room. We just got them inside"

The healer stopped short seeing the immobile forms on the bed, her practised eye taking in each carefully.

She cursed under her breath when her gaze fell on the immobile figure in the middle.

The nurse threw herself into full healer mode, muttering spells, checking for injuries, alternatively taking spells and potion from her bag.

"If you can so much as cast an _episkey _attend to those two. Here." she threw two bottles which James caught deftly "Give them a half a goblet each. This one…he needs all the help he can get"

Minutes flew by with only the whispered spells and the sound of their breath saturating the room.

"How are those two?"

"Minor injuries but otherwise unharmed. I think exhaustion had more to do with their present situation than anything else" Dumbledore replied serenely.

"I thought so" Poppy's eyes never left the patient.

After another 10 minutes she gave a sigh and looked up grimly at the curious people around her.

"What the hell did you do to them?" she barked angrily

Sirius let out an indignant cry "What do you think we are? Death Eaters? Those three arrived here looking like that."

She eyed him dubiously but let up when she bet Dumbledore's eyes. "There is a very good chance he'll recover. I have stabilised his condition but I doubt he'll come around before at least a week." Her brows furrowed in anger. Lips drawn into a grim line, she continued "4 ribs, fractured hip, left leg recently broken and left hand broken at 8 places, probably a bone crushing curse, dislocated shoulder, and head injury. I've stopped the internal bleeding." She took a breath and plodded on despite the horrified looks that some of them wore "It looks like this one was used for target practise." Another pause. "And I'm not speaking short term either. He had more medical attention, however poor, in the past than St. Mungo's gives in a year. And the diagnostic charm. This may sound absurd, but he had the unforgivable cast on him." Her eyes met Dumbledore's with evident incredulation "All three unforgivables"

That surprised even the wise headmaster

"But that's impossible!"

Poppy frowned at Tonks "My charm was done properly. I don't know how but he survived the killing curse. But" Poppy's eyes grew bright "what I can't bear is the number of times he was put through the cruciatus curse. I'm surprised he's breathing."

Grim silence met Poppy's revelation.

"It is the Polyjuice potion right?" Remus words came out hesitant.

Poppy nodded. "I should think so. A kid doesn't have the magic core to bear through this much."

Sirius backed her up "Voldemort doesn't go around giving the dark mark to two year olds anyway. This one probably made a run for it. His pals aren't death eaters. He probably-"

"They aren't"

Everyone looked at Dumbledore. He was standing next to the blonde death eater's bed something akin to both sadness and happiness shining in his eyes.

"They aren't using Polyjuice potion"

Even Sirius had to hold back a cry of distress.

"But… but" Poppy stuttered "These injuries…"

"…are those suffered by 10 year olds give or take a year." Dumbledore completed her sentence sadly "It is a cruel world we live in Poppy. You must know that by now"

"But he does bear the dark mark" Tonks spoke for the first time

Dumbledore nodded "Perhaps we should know the whole story before passing judgement"

Lily's words came out choked "Maybe we can find their parent. Perhaps one of us might even recognise them" her teary eyes refused to leave the boy. How could anyone do this to a child? And how were they going to tell his parents that their child had been put through unimaginable torture?

Dumbledore weighed his thought carefully, deciding whether or not he should speak. It was just a hunch but a strong one at that. If the child was who he thought he was… there was no telling how it would turn out. You don't stay in the presence of Voldemort for any amount of time without any repercussions. He looked at the child again, sadness at his suffering pouring back into him. He doubted this encounter would turn out to be good.

He walked towards the confused and stricken people standing helplessly.

"Where are the children?"

"Godric's Hollow" Arthur spoke up "Bill and Charlie are watching over them"

"Good. Good." He said absentmindedly "Now, I want you to listen carefully. Though they haven't used Polyjuice potion they have transfigured their appearance, probably to evade capture. Poppy, when will they awaken?"

"The one in the middle won't be up anytime soon but the other too will come around any minutes now. The potions I gave them don't hold well with Polyjuice. I believe it works in the same way concerning minor transfigurations too. Any changes they have made to their looks might be reversed one they wake."

Dumbledore nodded "Then we'll be seeing their real features soon enough. You are not to do anything in haste once they are awake. It is of the utmost importance" he looked each one in the eye as he spoke "It's imperious that we remain calm. We don't know what we're dealing with or what kind of reaction to expect. The most unassuming word or action might have severe consequences."

They nodded dumbly somewhat taken aback by his intensity.

A horrible thought struck Remus "But that means we might actually _know_ at least one of them"

Dumbledore neither denied nor approved his speculation, leaving them reluctant to learn their identities.

"I'll change their robes into something more comfortable" Frank's sympathy was back full force once he knew they were children.

He came to a stop in front of the bed in the middle. The wand was pointed at its occupant, the spell at the tip of his tongue when there was a shout from the adjacent bed.

The black haired boy stumbled off his bed and shielded his friend from Frank's wand.

"STAY BACK. DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM"

He was swaying slightly, exhaustion evident on his face which was slowly changing even as they looked on.

"Ron? Why are you…"the girl's eyes widened at the scene. She lost no time jumping to her place next to 'Ron'. Her hands flew to her robe but came out empty. She glared when she saw the wands clutched tightly in the hands of a woman with pink hair

"Hermione! Your hair"

She brought her hand to her straight dark locks which were slowly curling. She turned to Ron and saw the red steaks cluttering his black hair.

"Look… we don't mean to harm you. You should lie down. We are trying to-"

Franks words were cut short when he saw Hermione stumble still tired from whatever ordeal they had been put through. He moved forward meaning to steady her when Ron shouted again

"STAY AWAY FROM HER"

The next moment the adults in the room where thrown across the room.

Lily got up slowly. There were groans all around them. Albus seemed to be the only one who had managed to stay on his feet.

"What happened, Albus?"

" . .."

She gazed at the owner of the voice and felt her heart leap to her throat.

Sitting on the bed, wand raised toward them was a very young James Potter.

But his eyes.

He had her eyes.

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><p>I was really nervous about this chapter for some reason.<p>

So... like it? don't like it? let me know :)


	4. Chapter 4 - Ghosts of the past

Disclaimer : The usual :)

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><p>James' life started out easy. He had everything going for him. Dotting parents, a good enough brain, a disposition generally liked, enough money and best of all, the most loyal group of friends ever. He never had any regrets concerning his youth save a few run-ins with Severus that could have been avoided. When Lily finally said yes to a date in his seventh year, he felt like the luckiest guy in the universe. Part of his jovial nature came due to the fact that he didn't have any major responsibilities. Sure, he had to protect Lily (whether or not she thought he had to) and he was worried for his friends but that was a <em>part <em>of him; second nature almost. And that is why he nearly had an aneurism when Lily told him she was pregnant.

He was just 20. He still pranked order members for goodness sake! And his best experience with a kid was one in which the boy ran away screaming about two headed monsters. How was he, Hogwarts most irresponsible head boy, prankster extraordinaire, supposed to take care of a baby?

He wasn't home when his son came into the world. As much as he regretted it in that particular cirmumstance, it was a given fact that Sirius and James where the two best authors in the department (right next to Alastor) and they were a better choice to mingle with revolting South, gather information about the upheavals and actually come out fine as supposed to Mad Eye who would probably challenge the first dark supporter he saw to a fight to the death. Lily had been fine with it and Andromeda had been more than ready to keep her company while he was away.

Returning home a month and a half later, he was scared out of his wits at the prospect of meeting his son. Sirius had said he needed to ready himself to meet him (he was fairly sure it meant fire whisky) and had went home looking a bit green himself ('For Merlin's sake Sirius, he isn't even your son'- '_what's the difference_?').When Lily met him at the door with the little bundle in his arms, and gently passed their son to him, he expected screaming, crying, accidentally dropping the baby and everything bad that could possibly happen. What he didn't think would happen was for his entire world to shift.

He remembered it to the littlest detail.

His eyes were closed at first. James just stared at the being clutched in his arms. Then he blinked-once, twice, before opening his eyes- Lily's eyes-, staring at him with an almost curious expression. He noticed the wisps of black sticking out on his head and grinned remembering Lily's prayers that her son not inherit his stupid mess of a hair which obviously turned out to be futile. To his astonishment, the baby smiled- a little, toothless smile – mirroring him. He the surprised expression overcame his smile and there! His smile faded too. He sneezed. When his eyes opened again, it was filled with tears. He opened his mouth and a cry left his lips, scaring James. He was shocked that the thought of him being uncomfortable almost _hurt_ him. It was an automatic reaction, it came naturally- he gently rocked him back and forth and hushed him. And the baby stopped, staring at him again with the all-gums smile reciprocating his own. His forefinger lightly traced his face; the baby stayed still until it reached his tiny lips whence he opened his mouth and began sucking on James' finger.

That was when it struck him. The little bundle he held in his arms was his.

He was _his son._

That was when he realized how foolish his insecurities were. The thought of him being anything less than a perfect Dad for Harry was absurd. It didn't matter that we was just 20. It didn't matter that he married just a year previously. It didn't matter half his acquaintances thought he was off his rocker. Nothing mattered except for his son.

"Hey Harry" the name fit perfectly but he promised he would never admit it to Sirius who actually came up with it.

"Harry Potter" he grinned like a mad man at the child in his arms. "Harry James Potter"

Harry yawned silently and looked up at him through bleary eyes. James began rocking him again.

"You can sleep now Harry, Daddy will protect you. I promise"

Lily was the kind of person who was always smiling. It had been a source of amusement and surprise to James during Hogwarts days how she could insult him until till his self-esteem was half its size, all the while sporting a cheery smile on her face as if she might as well be talking to distant aunt. But that earth crashing, heart stopping smile; it was reserved for certain occasions. He had seen it when he had landed after taken her on his broom round the stadium, when he had made her dinner without using magic and without any help on their 7 month as a dating couple, when he had messed up his proposal big time, when he saw her walk up the aisle. He swore he would make her smile like that as often as possible. It turns out, Harry was all it took. It was mesmerizing- how her yes would brighten, how her lips would pull up in an involuntary smile, how her gaze would automatically flit to her son whatever she might be doing. It only took one a few seconds to see how much she loved her son. Though she pretended to be exasperated by how much the adults spoiled Harry, it was obvious to anyone how pleased she was. Anything that made Harry happy, made Lily happy. She loved everything he did. She would watch enraptured when Harry attempted to stack the building blocks, when he made weird noises playing with muggle toys… for Merlin's sake he had seen her smiling when he threw his breakfast around!

James had been giddy with happiness and as proud as a lion when he introduced Harry James Potter (_'I knew you would sneak in your name somewhere') _to his godfather. Sirius' apprehension lasted for approximately 20 seconds before he gently took the baby in his arms and declared confidently that he was going to be Harry's favourite godfather ('What do you mean favourite? He can have only one godfather' – '_that's beside the point. Even if he did have more, I'd still be his favourite') _and that he will teach Harry all there is to know about good looks and girls (James scoffed here). He loved the boy, which became extensively clear when Sirius started emptying his vault, meaning to spoil Harry rotten. A hand crafted, custom made, limited edition broom imported from Peru was his first godson day gift (He celebrated it twice a week until James became jealous and declared Father's day every two days. Lily's glares put an end to frequent celebrations of both). It wasn't a novelty to see Padfoot who had sneaked in at night, curled up beside Harry's cot when they checked on him in the morning. After James rushed to Harry at night, having heard him cry, only to find a smug Sirius cradling the boy in his arms, _yet again, _a brawl broke out which took a copious amount of hexes from Lily and a deafening scream from Harry to resolve. In the end it was decided that they would take turns checking on Harry (Sirius conveniently forgot this arrangement a week later which resulted in Prongs haunting Harry's room; Lily put her foot down another week later).

James understood though. For his best friend the title of godfather meant much more than he let on. He was _family_. He had Tonks, Andromeda… but he remembered Sirius' words '_I can't break in at 2 a.m. and demand firewhisky and company'_. Harry tied Sirius to the Potters. It wasn't a hidden fact that the Black family despised their blood traitor son and Sirius returned the sentiment with interest. Even after many earnest promises and heartfelt words declarations stating that Sirius was family, if not closer, their words were in the end… just words. True, sincere, deep, but words nevertheless. It was a sentiment only the people who knew them recognized. To others, Sirius the talented auror, a man disowned by his family, friend to the Potters. But then Harry came and he became Sirius' family in the most legal of way – legal to the wizard world anyway. He was a link that connected him to their family through a valid bond.

Sirius practically shifted into Potter manor. James and he had everything planned; from Harry's position in the quidditch team to the pranks they would advise him to do. Lily decided to intervene somewhere along his animagus form.

Remus and Harry was another case entirely. With the others Harry was every bit of s troublesome marauder. James lost count of the number of times he had to repair his glasses after Harry declared war with it and took to throwing it around. He caught Lily putting unbreakable charms around the house after the TV, a vase and a glass piece became prey to their boy and Sirius joked albeit with worry that he would soon be sporting a bald patch if Harry didn't stop pulling out his hair anytime soon.

But with Remus, you would think he was the calmest, the most innocent of boys. He would be trying to poke out James' eyes with his glasses or pulling on Padfoot's tail with his chubby hands one second and the next moment, he would be sitting there looking up at Remus through wide eyes giving him the 'why-aren't-you-here-fawning-over-me' look. If Remus still didn't go over to him –which wasn't often- his eyes would slowly fill up with tears and- the werewolf's resistance didn't go past this, so what would happen next remains a mystery. Harry rarely played with Remus. He either curled up on his lap and looked over at the amused audience with a particularly superior expression or went to sleep in his arms with his head resting comfortable on Remus' chest.

With Peter, it wasn't a matter of one disliking the other. Peter had withdrawn from their group despite their joined efforts and worries until in the end, they wrote it off as his mother's receding health. Even when they did meet up Harry seemed to like Peter fine though the latter gave the baby a wide berth citing that kids made him uncomfortable.

James didn't give it much thought. Between him Sirius and Remus they were sure to spoil Harry rotten. Though he'd never admit it, he was pretty sure that if Lily hadn't threatened to hex them all to the next world if they never let Harry try to walk ('what do you mean we're too indulging?' _– 'You idiots, Harry hasn't touched the ground for two days with you three hogging him!' –'_Who cares? Walking is overrated anyway'), Harry would never have learned how to use his two feet.

James wouldn't have cared; anything to have his little angel in his arms, looking up at him with those trustful eyes and melting smile. He was his whole world. He almost cried the day Harry took his first step, not caring that he would have hell from his two friends. His first word was '_Mama' _but it had been James he had stumbled towards on his small legs, taking one wobbly step at a time before collapsing into his waiting arms, giggling happily.

He loved his son.

They learned about the prophecy and the threat Voldemort raised during late august. Along with the Longbottoms, they were hidden by the Fidelius charm, with Sirius as their secret keeper and Dumbledore the latter's. Those were tense days. People were disappearing left and right and it was only the thought of keeping Harry safe, that helped them resist the temptation to fling themselves straight into the war. It seemed Voldemort was more interested in the potters and was still wary of Dumbledore because Sirius found himself ambushed in no less 2 dozen circumstances by the time October rolled in. The idea of the secret keeper switch had been cooked up by him and Sirius and approved by Dumbledore. It was a perfect plan. The death eaters didn't even seem to know about Peter's existence.

A mock Halloween party to stem the tension had been James' idea. They couldn't go out of course, but that didn't mean they couldn't celebrate. That was why Halloween found more than half the order at Potter Mansion in ridiculous get ups (Frank was dressed as a Venomous Tentacula and it was one of the _less_ weird costumes). Half an hour after the first fire whisky was opened there came an urgent message from Alastor Moody about death eater sighting in Diagon Alley.

James had sensed that something was wrong. Diagon Alley was a heavily protected area. It was sheer stupidity to attack it. But it _was _a populated region and in the off chance that it was legit information lives could be lost. It was quickly assumed that they wouldn't pull such a risky stunt without adequate back up and the entire order was to aid the ministry.

Alice left to leave Neville in Augusta's care once Bathilda Bagshot volunteered to babysit Harry.

James wished he had known.

He wished he had given more attention to the discomfort Peter showed throughout the entire evening.

The dark mark had appeared over Diagon Alley. Subsequent search yielded only a dead death eater. But it didn't add up. An hour long investigation gave light to the fact that there had been no murders, kidnappings, robbery or collateral damage of any kind; yet _priori incantetum_ showed that the death eater was responsible for the mark. They were startled out of their confusion by a bat- Severus' animagus- appearing with a message telling them to return to Godric's Hollow immediately.

James had expected many things- death eaters tying to penetrate the wards, an attack elsewhere on the street, an important order meeting, anything.

They had apparated outside and rushed up the path to find nothing aside the usual. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until they reached the living room, to be greeted by Bathilda's unconscious figure on the floor.

James had felt the truth rather than see it, felt the oncoming anguish, felt pain, the sadness, the _emptiness._ He didn't need a pale Severus to rush inside and state it

"_Pettigrew is a death eater"_

* * *

><p>This chapter might come off as a bit boring especially since I left it a bit at an intense point in the previous one. But I just had to write it.<p>

If anyone with any doubts concerning any of the chapters, please don;t hesitate to ask. I'll explain it the best i can.


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